Monday, February 13, 2012

Valentines books

I'm not really into romance novels but in my collection I do have a few vintage ones that are worth sharing during this lovey-dovey season. Admittedly, I did buy these solely for the covers. I'm not a massive Jane Austin fan (I find her female characters weak and boring - all they do is sit around drawing rooms gossiping about neighbours). I read "Studio Nurse" last week and it was pretty lame; there wasn't even any closure to an already lackluster plot. Books like this are always fascinating though, merely as an insight into the mid-century woman. Regardless of the fact that a woman wrote this book, a lot of it was clearly in favour of a male-dominated world. Oh, and the "coloured" maid depiction was especially cringe-worthy.
I haven't read Young Tracy and don't know if I'll be able to stomach a Harlequin Romance.
The book of poems was purchased just for the aesthetics. I love fiction, non-fiction, short stories, dramas, scripts... yet poetry (especially romantic poetry) is something I've never been able to get too into (other than a few of Edgar Allan Poe's classics). This book was definitely worth purchasing though. The ink and watercolour illustrations within are beautiful, along with the gold lettering and intricate design of the cover -- as soon as I saw this, i had to get it. I got it from an etsy shop called CinfulOldies. This shop is a treasure trove of nifty vintage items and the lady who runs it is a lovely person to deal with. 


I digress.


Check out the love-fest books.


Studio Nurse, Virginia Roberts, 1962


Young Tracy, Rosalind Brett, 1964




Persuasion, Jane Austen, 1964

Yep, I love Signet Classics' line drawing and bio of the author

How Do I Love Thee? Beautiful Love Poems of Yesterday and Today, Selected by Linda Rhodes, Illustrated by David Johnson, 1969

cover detail

Gorgeous and girly



Inside cover on both sides looks like this

This book has several splendid illustrations in one of my favourite styles - ink with watercolour detailing







1 comment:

  1. Love the Illustrations in this last book. So happy you are pleased with your purchase from CinfulOldies on Etsy.

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